


break the back of the mountain

by zxrysky



Category: Katekyou Hitman Reborn!, Naruto
Genre: Gen, M/M, Mention of the other Guardians, Zabuza and Haku are kinda just unconscious though oops
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-12
Updated: 2018-08-12
Packaged: 2019-06-26 04:23:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,563
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15655695
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zxrysky/pseuds/zxrysky
Summary: Somehow, he thinks this world isn't so bad. He might end up as a teacher. Or a sushi chef. Sure, he's currently lugging an unconscious teen around on his back as he doggedly follows a silver-haired man leading him to the promised Konoha, but why not, right?Takeshi's lips twist up as he hikes Haku further up on his back. This seems pretty fun.





	break the back of the mountain

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [one glance and the avalanche drops](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14227299) by [blackkat](https://archiveofourown.org/users/blackkat/pseuds/blackkat). 



> Commission for daeofthepast! This piece is a continuation of blackkkat's [one glance and the avalanche drops](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14227299) ! Done with her permission, of course.

There are things that they have to settle before they can take off traipsing to wherever they have to go. The first lies unconscious at their feet, a huge brick wall of muscle that reminds Takeshi painfully of Ryohei, bandages covering him from head to toe.

 

His broadsword disappeared into a roll of paper that Kakashi took out – and what a sight, seeing a sword his height slide seamlessly into a yellowed scrap of paper. Tsuna would probably be gleeful at the opportunity to squirrel his never-ending stacks of paperwork in there.

 

Takeshi suppresses a smile. The thought of Tsuna is a bittersweet one, but it fills him with an undeniable fondness. Even with everything happening at once, with the Millefiore, with Byakuran, with the Six Funeral Wreaths, he’d never stopped thinking of his family. Tsuna had kept it all to himself, deciding to shoulder this painful headache by his lonesome, and Takeshi can’t wait to see the better future that their younger selves will wrought just so he can smack Tsuna up the head when he sees him again.

 

There’s a muffled grunt from his side, and Takeshi side eyes the boy trussed up tightly in rope and gagged with cloth. This one was with the swordsman. The teenager who tried to lunge for Takeshi with unbridled desperation in his eyes, who sunk to his knees and shook in his bindings when he saw Zabuza’s chest move.

 

He recognizes that look. It’s wild and unrestrained, common sense barely bleeding in at the edges, and Takeshi has no doubt that this boy will try his best to kill them all if it means he can abscond with Zabuza’s passed out form.

 

“Calm down a little, you’ll get rope burn if you’re not careful.” He says this, but he frowns when he sees the bruises already forming against the teenager’s pale skin. Takeshi’s hands instinctively light up with Flames, and the boy flinches away when they inch close. There isn’t anywhere to escape to, however, and his eyelids flicker, sliding shut with a resigned sigh.

 

Takeshi leans back and stares at the boy for a while. He wonders what will happen to this kid when they get to, well, wherever Kakashi’s taking them back to. Konoha, right? He dimly recalls a word like that being casually dropped from the silver-haired man’s mouth.

 

If he remembers correctly, Kakashi said Zabuza’s “too valuable to kill”. That has a lot of meanings, many of them bitter on his tongue. Too valuable to kill, but it doesn’t seem like they’re above torturing him for information or using him as leverage against whatever place he hails from. Too valuable to kill, but they wouldn’t mind experimenting on him and seeing what results they can glean from his body.

 

And only Zabuza’s too valuable to kill. What exactly are they planning to do with the teenager, then?

 

He thinks of Mukuro, the hatred in those eyes that mulled out over the years, and Takeshi’s lips twist. If it’s something bad, something heinous – he glances over at Kakashi’s sleeping form, the three kids huddled together for warmth, their worried eyes peeking out into the dark night as they stay vigilant against potential enemies, and he thinks he could take them.

 

He doesn’t really want to, though. They seem like good people. Takeshi’s always believed in his instincts, no matter how often Hayato yells at him for it, and this time they’re telling him that this bunch of people are trustworthy.

 

Past-him would probably have joked about how trusting child soldiers and a fully grown killer might be asking for trouble, but look where he’s found himself. A Guardian to the head of the biggest mafia in Italy. He’s yet to find someone more trustworthy than killers, actually.

 

Takeshi’s lips curl up into a wry smile. At least, when dealing with fellow killers, their agendas are very clear and easy to understand.

 

The blond boy shifts, brilliant blue eyes darting over to stare at Takeshi. For his part, he pretends to not notice, looking down and fiddling with the handle of his wooden sword. He should probably ask Kakashi for some oil or something, to smoothen out the handle. He’s been neglecting his sword, just a little, and it shows.

 

A smack of skin against skin resounds through the air, and a harsh whisper follows it. “Don’t be an _idiot_ ,” the girl hisses, but she throws a look at Takeshi from the corner of her eyes. “Don’t talk to random people. We don’t know him. He’s not from Konoha.”

 

“But he helped us, didn’t he?”

 

A scoff. “He’s probably hunting Zabuza, and now he’s playing nice because he can’t get to Zabuza yet.” That’s the boy with black hair, the tiny one that came back to life with a gasp and red spinning in his eyes. His hair looks a bit like Mukuro’s, and those red eyes aren’t exactly screaming sanity.

 

Takeshi eyes him carefully. The only people he’s known with changing eye colors are all rather crazy. Then there’s that _one_ guy whose eye color he’s never seen at all, and is also barking mad.

 

He catches them staring collectively at him, and looks up with a grin, offering them a small wave.

 

Their heads turn back in unison, so quickly he winces at the possibility of whiplash, and he toys with the thought of going over there to talk. He decides, what the hell, there isn’t much to do while the stars are probably still as high as ever in the sky, and he wanders over.

 

“Hey!” Takeshi says, settling down next to them, putting his hands over the campfire. “It’s not very nice to hog the warmth, y’know?”

 

The blond boy puffs his cheeks out at him, squinting dubiously as he sizes Takeshi up. “You don’t seem like much,” he says after a pause, eyes landing on his sword. “And this is wooden, isn’t it?! Look, teme, I _told_ you it was a wooden sword!”

 

“And how would a wooden sword have cut through Zabuza’s armor?” The boy replies roughly, but still leans closer to peek at Takeshi’s sword. “… it can’t be wood. There’s no way wood would cut through that.”

 

“Of course it isn’t wood,” the pink-haired girl offers loyally, eyes shining as she stares at the black-haired boy and doesn’t even spare a glance at the sword. Takeshi looks at the three of them, visibly amused, and puts the sword on his lap and invites them to take a better look.

 

“Unfortunately,” he says, small smile directed at the girl, “it _is_ made of wood. Sometimes, of course. Sometimes, it’s metal. It depends on its mood, really.”

 

Hayato would be foaming at the mouth. Tsuna would have to hold him back, begging Takeshi to stop spouting such nonsense before Hayato breaks out of Tsuna’s hold and comes at Takeshi with death in his eyes.

 

Takeshi tries valiantly not to think about it, about how much he wishes he were back in that situation (he wishes so much that it _hurts_ ) and grins at the trio. “I’m Yamamoto Takeshi. It’s nice to meet you.”

 

The blond boy’s head shoots up, a beaming smile plastered on his face in return, and it feels like Takeshi could go blind if he stared at this boy for too long. “I’m Uzumaki Naruto! And I’m going to be the next Hokage of Konoha, dattebayo!”

 

“Oh, that’s super cool!” Takeshi replies, easily meeting the same level of excitement that oozes from Naruto’s body. “I’m sure you can do it if you put your mind to it.”

 

“Don’t go around randomly introducing yourself to people!” The girl cries out, smacking Naruto over the head, but the boy just takes it in stride, remaining upright and gaping at Takeshi.

 

“You think I can do it?” He asks, voice suddenly a lot quieter, and his hands have shifted from confident fists in the air to hesitant tugs at his jacket. Naruto isn’t looking at Takeshi, eyes trained on his sword, and Takeshi blinks in surprise.

 

He doesn’t actually know what a Hokage is. But if that dream meant that much to the kid, then it should be fine to encourage him, right? The Hokage probably isn’t something terrible, like the leader of a large con group or something, right? Maybe he should start listening to Tsuna when he advises Takeshi to stop speaking before thinking.

 

In for a penny, in for a pound, he thinks. There’s a lot of things he’d wanted to hear back when he had been starting out in baseball, or even starting out with the Shigure Soen Ryu. Takeshi thinks of the insecurity he’d felt back then, lets it fill his chest, and knows what he wants to say.

 

He reaches out to place a hand on Naruto’s shoulder. The black-haired boy stiffens and subtly moves closer, as if afraid that Takeshi would try something. The girl inches closer to Kakashi, like she’d slap him awake and throw him at Takeshi in times of emergency.

 

Both solid plans, Takeshi thinks in delight, heartened by the show of camaraderie. But Naruto is still waiting – impatiently – for a reply, feet scuffing against the ground, shoulders drooping.

 

Takeshi tightens his grip and smiles. “I think you can do whatever you want to do,” he tells him. “Don’t let anyone stop you. If you want to be the best baseball player in the world, do it. If you want to be the best swordsman in the world, do it. If you want to be the Hokage of Konoha, who’s stopping you?”

 

“What’s baseball?” The girl whispers to the black-haired boy, but all he offers is a terse shrug in response. Naruto, on the other hand – his gaze snaps up to connect with Takeshi’s, and the latter’s smile grows softer upon seeing the small tears gathered in the corners of the boy’s eyes.

 

Naruto wipes harshly at his eyes with the edge of his sleeve and bounces close, beaming up at Takeshi. “Thanks,” he says, grin still a little watery, but his eyes are bright with delight. “Thanks a lot for that, Yamamoto-san! You’re a really nice guy!”

 

“You’re a really cute kid,” Takeshi replies, ruffling his hair. Come to think of it, Naruto looks a little like Natsu. Wild hair, whiskers, bright eyes – yeah, he can see it.

 

He turns to the girl and the other boy, the former losing some of her hesitance and moving closer after seeing Naruto’s response. The black-haired boy stubbornly remains quiet, eyeing him carefully.

 

A mini, less bloodthirsty Kyouya, Takeshi suddenly thinks, and has to puff out his cheeks to stop himself from laughing. Laughing would probably bruise mini-Kyouya’s ego.

 

“So,” he starts, pointing a thumb at the unconscious teen, “know anything about him?”

 

The girl darts forward – she tried, she honestly did, and Takeshi even feels a bit sorry for her when she’s not fast enough. Naruto glances over and without a beat, goes, “oh yeah, that’s Haku!”

 

She lets out a despondent groan and sinks to her knees, burying her face in her palms. Takeshi is very familiar with the frustrated look in her eyes. He is very sorry to admit he is usually on the receiving side of them, in fact.

 

“Sakura-chan?” Naruto asks worriedly, hurrying over. His hands hover frantically over her, as if unsure of where to put them on her body for maximum comfort. He swallows, and settles for lightly patting her shoulder.

 

She twitches, and he flinches back, but puts on a brave face and digs his heels in. Takeshi amends his previous assumption: Naruto was probably wondering how to go about comforting Sakura without getting hit in the face.

 

“Oh yes, why not share precious information with the stranger! And while you’re at it, share my name too!” Her voice comes out slightly muffled from her palms. Sakura’s head suddenly shoots up, glaring at Naruto. “Don’t you dare tell him Sa- our other teammate’s name, okay?!”

 

“Who,” Naruto starts, and Takeshi can feel the train wreck incoming, he can _see_ it, “Sasuke-teme? Okay, I won’t- oh.” He offers a sheepish grin to mini-Kyouya that’s outright radiating killing intent. “I’m sorry? Er, haha?”

 

Takeshi has used that exact same combination of words often enough to know Naruto is about to die before his very eyes.  

 

“Well now!” He cuts in before blood can be shed - Takeshi saw Sakura reach for her weapons pouch; dangerous little girls in close proximity to dangerous objects result in double the fear factor - and shoos them over to their packs. “I think it’s time Kakashi-san woke up for his shift!”

 

The prone body behind him doesn’t twitch, although Takeshi’s known for a while that Kakashi stirred awake the moment he approached the trio. The silver-haired man has just been lying there lazily, a hand dangling deceptively close to Takeshi’s waist as he listened in on their conversation.

 

Sakura peers at Kakashi’s body, purses her lips and turns to Takeshi. “He looks like he needs the rest,” she says hesitantly, before shaking her head and looking up fiercely. “He needs to rest up properly, else he won’t be able to fight if we encounter anyone else. We can take watch for a while more.”

 

“Aw,” Naruto moans from where he’s already sitting on the ground, kneading his pack into a slightly more comfortable pillow. “Do we have to?”

 

Sasuke doesn’t say a word, but his brows pull down and his shoulders tense up as he tries to shuffle away from his pack, pretending he hadn’t been all for the idea of sleeping as well. “Okay,” he murmurs, pointedly not looking at Sakura – for her part, she seems to explode with glee the moment that word left his mouth.

 

Takeshi might need to invest in a pair of sunglasses if he’s going to see more of these kids that can radiate sunlight and sparkles. But even with their vigor, he can see they’re lagging. There’s a stiffness in their movements that only set in after the heat of battle ended, and their eyes are tired. The pace they’ve been keeping on the road back to Konoha has been especially punishing as well, even with the frequent breaks they take.

 

He leans back, knocking his hipbone against Kakashi’s free wrist, and smiles so widely his eyes squeeze shut. “I’m sure Kakashi-san’s willing to take over for now. Isn’t he?”

 

“Ah,” a wry chuckle escapes the man behind him. Kakashi reluctantly slides upwards into an upright position, rubbing the back of his hand against his neck. “Time for my cute students to take their well deserved rest after today. You all worked hard, didn’t you?”

 

Sakura opens her mouth and closes it just as fast, biting her lip as she stares at her teacher. Takeshi can tell she wants to say something, maybe to ask if Kakashi’s really up to the task, but it’s Sasuke who eyes his teacher critically and asks, “are you really okay?”

 

“No respect from my students, ah?” Kakashi replies, standing and stretching as he shifts closer to them. “I’m fine. But if you three don’t get some sleep tonight, we’ll never manage to get back to Konoha on time, hm?”

 

He flaps his hands at the trio, herding them back to their makeshift beds. It takes a while, but the three children really are tuckered out from the events of today – what with one of them dying and coming back to life, _that_ one probably needs an entire week of sleep to recuperate – and they knock out like a bunch of lights.

 

Kakashi returns with a hand pressed over the bottom of his face, covering his yawn even though all Takeshi sees is moving fabric, and settles down near him, leaning against a tree that stretches endlessly into the sky.

 

“So,” he drawls, gaze sliding over to Takeshi, “you’re looking for a place. That’s why you’re still sticking to us.”

 

Takeshi shrugs, shifting away from the fire and lying down on a patch of dry dirt. His arms cross behind his head, and he lets out a breath that condenses into a pale white stream in the air. The trees’ canopy are so wide and encompassing, pressing tightly against each other; he can’t see the stars clearly.

 

“It’s not like I have much of a place to get back to, right now. You seem nice. Those three seem nice.”

 

Kakashi raises an eyebrow. “ _I_ seem nice?”

 

“And,” Takeshi adds casually, turning to look up at Kakashi, “you owe me one, don’t you?” He grins, a false imitation of baring his teeth, and the man’s eye narrows.

 

They hold eye contact for a brief moment, sizing each other up. It holds for a breath, two, and then it dissipates. The tension in Kakashi’s shoulders seep out, and he runs a hand through his messy hair. “You’re right,” he replies mildly, eye curving up in a smile. “I’ll be sure to put in a good word for you with the Hokage.”

 

Hokage, right – that thing Naruto wants to be in the future. What _is_ a Hokage, exactly? “Yeah, about that – what’s a Hokage?” Takeshi asks, expression turning sheepish upon seeing Kakashi’s utter look of disbelief.

 

The man squints at him, head tilted to the side. It looks like Kakashi’s struggling to understand him. Takeshi laughs, turning back to stare at the wide expanse of leaves above him. “Sorry, was it a weird question?”

 

“… No, it’s alright,” Kakashi replies after a pause. “The Hokage is… the leader of Konoha. Konoha’s a Hidden Village – the Hidden Village of the Leaves.”

 

“Ah, politics,” Takeshi says sagely, nodding along. “So he’s like Tsuna, I guess,” he murmurs to himself, crossing his legs. “How big is the Hidden Village?”

 

Kakashi furrows his brows, working his jaw. “About… three million people?”

 

Takeshi sits up in a flurry. “Three million?” He repeats blankly. He tries to do the math. He had been in charge of about two hundred people. Multiply by seven for the Guardians, multiply by three for the CEDEF and the Varia, add a couple more for administrative, add a couple _more_ for the people who worked outside of the main famiglia – his head hurts.

 

But still, it’s definitely less than three million. Less than a million. At least, he thinks so.

 

“So the Hokage’s the President.” Takeshi scratches the back of his neck. “And Naruto wants to be this Hokage in the future.”

 

“And you encouraged him,” Kakashi notes. Takeshi can see that grin hiding behind the fabric on his face. He can hear Kakashi’s mocking huff of laughter.

 

He’s fully prepared to defend his support, and Naruto’s capabilities, when the thought of Tsuna’s paperwork pops into his mind. A President probably has more paperwork than Tsuna, right? Running a country must be harder than a famiglia, when the population in question triples.

 

Takeshi blanches at the thought. “Naruto would die under the mounds of paperwork,” he says out loud, face rapidly paling. “He wouldn’t make it out alive.” He’s known the boy for all of one day and yet, he _knows_. There’s a certain breed of people that can handle horrendous amounts of paperwork. And Naruto doesn’t appear to belong to that species.

 

Kakashi lets out a snort, shaking his head. “The day he becomes Hokage is the day I retire as a ninja,” he muses quietly, lips curling up at the notion. “But I’m sure he’ll make it, somehow.”

 

“Yeah?” Takeshi thinks of Tsuna, the boy everyone had thought was spineless and weak, that had grown into the man he was. He thinks of himself, how his mask started to break over the years, how Tsuna swept into his life and helped him change, taught him how to smile again after so many years of fake laughter echoing in his ears.

 

 _Yeah_ , he thinks, recalling Naruto’s desperate scrambles for Sasuke’s body and the way he hovered with concern over Sakura. Naruto’s definitely a Sky, tiny and unpolished and covered in dirt, but he’ll craft his own path to reach his goal.

 

They lie there in companionable silence until Takeshi’s eyelids grow heavy, and his breaths even out. He’s hovering in the comfortable bridge between sleep and consciousness, vision blurring out every time he opens his eyes, and he’s only barely aware of his surroundings. Kojirou slumbers in his box, ready to attack at the first hint of danger, and his presence lulls Takeshi to sleep.

 

“Thank you for saving my life,” a quiet voice floats to his ears. It sounds reluctant, and Takeshi murmurs something that hopefully sounds like “it’s okay”.

 

A chuckle, and a nudge against his shoulder. “Go to sleep,” the voice says, “you look like shit.”

 

 _Ugh_ , Takeshi thinks, irritation welling up at the voice insulting him in his sleep, and rolls over on his side to pass out.

 

-=-

 

He should probably pay more attention to his surroundings, Takeshi considers blearily as he heaves Haku higher on his back. They’re making quick time to Konoha, and it’s only an hour or two more until they reach.

 

An hour or two more of him carrying the passed out teen while Kakashi lugs around Zabuza and the three kids filled with vitality wonder why they’re so slow. Alright, Takeshi admits, _he’s_ rather slow. Kakashi’s as fast as ever, barely straining as he drags Zabuza for the better half of ten kilometers.

 

Takeshi’s never been physically unfit, and up till recently (read: today) he’s even thought he’s fairly above average, but he might very well be the weakest link of the group right now.

 

He maintains him walking into a tree was an _accident_ , even though the tree was twice his size and should definitely have been in his range of vision. Kakashi had laughed at him, and Takeshi had a brief fever dream of flinging Haku at the man, before calming down and petting Haku’s thigh to reassure the unconscious boy that he wouldn’t do such an asinine thing.

 

“By the way, what happened to that old guy?” Takeshi asks, edging closer to the trio, pretending to forget the common sense to not talk while running. “The one with you guys the first time I met you. Slightly shorter than me, smells like alcohol, screamed really loudly?”

 

Naruto laughs loudly and almost careens off into a tree at the side of the road. Sasuke reaches out to drag him back on the path, fingers pulling at Naruto’s collar, and the blond boy bats at him in irritation. Mini-Kyouya bares his teeth in retaliation.

 

Sakura flicks her hair out of her face, inches closer to Sasuke, and peers up at Takeshi. “Kakashi-sensei left a few clones with him to finish the mission. Why?”

 

He blinks. “Sorry,” he says with as much charm as he can manage, and hopes he doesn’t sound delirious, “did you say – clones? Kakashi-san made clones?”

 

“Shadow clones,” Naruto adds helpfully, struggling to kick Sasuke in the shin. Sasuke snorts derisively and speeds up. They all speed up as a result, and Takeshi can feel himself growing faint. “Those are super special because they’re like real people. I can make a whole lot too! Like, a hundred!”

 

“A hundred,” Takeshi repeats feebly, and whirls around. “Hey, Kakashi-san, if you can make realistic clones, do you think you could help me out a little?” He asks, knowing full well Kakashi hasn’t offered to help on purpose, and the man beams at him.

 

“But making a Shadow clone really takes a lot out of me, Takeshi-san. Little old me can’t do it!”

 

“There’s other types of clones too, Kakashi-sensei,” Sakura offers, unknowingly adding fuel to the fire in Takeshi’s eyes, acting as the guarantor for Kakashi’s death warrant. “I’m sure you can make a Leaf clone if you really had to.”

 

“You can make five of those weaker clones to carry Haku if you have to,” Takeshi points out. It’s decidedly not a suggestion. “You guys really do have crazy stamina. How are you not fazed at all? Zabuza’s like, a hundred kilograms?”

 

“Maa, we can’t all be samurai and focus on swords instead of chakra,” Kakashi replies. Takeshi has no idea what he’s talking about at all, but rolls his eyes and acts affronted. He bursts into laughter right after that, however, upon seeing the worried look Naruto casts at the both of them.

 

He rolls his shoulders, jostling Haku slightly and tries to ignore the lactic acid buildup in his calves. They came to a consensus to keep Haku unconscious, since the teen hasn’t exactly been the most cooperative when he’s awake. Not that Takeshi can fault him, because he knows exactly what it feels like to be trussed up and helpless while someone important to you is in the exact same state just a short distance away.

 

“Y’know, Takeshi-san,” Naruto says idly, bringing Takeshi out of his musings, “can you work with any other weapons? Like those super large shuriken, or those fancy curved blades that can make fire go whoosh and stuff! Or explosions!”

 

“I’ve never touched a shuriken in my life,” he replies, and Naruto makes a face at that admission. “And the only sword I’ll use is Shigure Kintoki,” Takeshi adds sheepishly. “She’ll get jealous if I use other swords.”

 

“That’s lame,” Naruto moans, and Sakura jabs him in the side. “Oh! Not that your sword’s lame, just that you haven't tried anything else! I’d bet you’d do great with the huge spinning shuriken, I _promise_. Don’t you think so, Sasuke-teme?”

 

Sasuke eyes Takeshi, and hums in agreement. “Maybe,” he says. “Anyone who works well with one weapon usually does with the rest. Not like you could in a million years, though.”

 

“You-!” Naruto hisses, fist pulling back, and Sasuke’s eyes glimmer at the promise of a fight.

 

 _Such_ a Hibari, Takeshi thinks fondly.

 

“Naruto, stop it!” Sakura says sharply. “We’re almost back home, let’s not do anything stupid, okay? Let’s just-“ she looks abruptly tired, brushing a few limp strands of pink hair out of her face, “-play nice until we get back.”

 

The blond boy stares at her for a brief moment. “Yeah, okay, Sakura-chan.” He backs down, scrubbing sheepishly at the back of his head. “My bad.”

 

Sasuke tilts his head, before nodding sharply. He inches closer to Sakura, and the small movement visibly cheers her up. Naruto purses his lips at the sight, jaw tightening as he glances between Sakura and Sasuke, and shifts nearer to Sakura’s other side.

 

“Ah, youth,” Takeshi muses, thinking of him and Hayato fighting over Tsuna’s attention back when they were in high school, and almost misses Kakashi’s full body shudder. “Did I say something?” He asks in amusement.

 

“Never say that again,” Kakashi says, shaking his head violently. “Just don’t. At all. And don’t start wearing green spandex either.”

 

“Hey, I’d look _good_ in spandex,” Takeshi jokes, hiking Haku higher on his back. “A spandex-wearing, sword-wielding man. I’d look great.”

 

Kakashi seems to choke on thin air, laughter bubbling out of his throat. “Don’t stress me out before we reach Konoha. If I keel over and die from embarrassment, I can’t put in a good word for you with the Hokage,” he reminds, eye curving in a smile.

 

“I’m sure I’d win him or her over with my winning smile and charming personality,” Takeshi replies with a grin. Politics, right? He just has to make himself useful to this Hokage for the short period of time, until their younger selves settle things and he’ll get called back.

 

There’s a lot he can market about himself. He’s _very_ good with his sword, can make a mean party plate of sushi, can dance, can do paperwork, can play baseball, and if hard-pressed, he _can_ assassinate people. He doesn’t want to, of course, and Tsuna isn’t a fan of it either, but sometimes there are people that only understand the language of violence.

 

He’s got a pretty well-rounded set of talents. And he saved this weird rag-tag team of soldiers too, didn't he? Kakashi makes himself sound like a huge bigshot, so maybe he’s like… one of the Hokage’s Guardians or something? Or something, Takeshi hopes wildly. And kids are precious right?

 

Honestly, he’s not exactly sure why this Hidden Village is investing in child soldiers, but he isn’t about to question their political agenda right when he’s about to plead for clemency.

 

“Is there anything I can do in Konoha?” Takeshi asks abruptly, seeing a large blockage rise upon the horizon. It’s maybe, half an hour away – huge and looming right before him. It kind of makes him want to go rock climbing.

 

Kakashi hums in consideration, tilting his head. “Cleaner?” He offers, laughing and ducking out of the way when Takeshi grins so sharply a bit of killing intent emanates. The trio in front all turn their heads in unison, peering curiously at the two adults that seem to be leaking killing intent at each other.

 

“Be serious,” he complains, blowing his fringe out of his face. “I could make sushi. I’m good at that.”

 

“You can cook?” Kakashi asks, looking rather impressed. “And sushi? Not like, instant ramen?”

 

“I mean, I can cook instant ramen too,” Takeshi adds in amusement. Naruto perks up, waving excitedly. “You like instant ramen?”

 

“I _love_ instant ramen,” Naruto gushes, throwing his hands out. “I love everything about it! Except for the three minutes it takes to cook them, of course, because that always seems to take forever and I can’t touch my ramen before that or it won’t taste good!”

 

Takeshi’s willing to listen to Naruto babble on adorably for half an hour more, but Sakura glances up at him and cuts Naruto off. “You’re going to stay in Konoha for a while?”

 

“Ah yeah, I am. But I need something to do, right? I could… I don’t know, what jobs are there in Konoha?”

 

Sasuke levels a thoughtful look at him, and peers briefly at Kakashi. “You could work in a weapons shop,” he murmurs. “Sometimes they accept part-time workers. Or you could offer classes on kenjutsu. You seem pretty good with your sword.”

 

Teaching the art of Shigure Soen Ryu? He can’t, Takeshi thinks instantly, and the rejection is on the tip of this tongue when a voice that sounds eerily like Hayato starts yelling at the back of his mind.

 

He _can’t_ teach these people Shigure Soen Ryu, he decides, because it’s not meant to be taught to just anyone. But what if it was just the basics of sword fighting? Like stances, or how to take care of a sword, or simple katas to familiarize students with the sword. The stuff that his dad made him focus on in the beginning, the stuff that Squalo drilled into him so harshly he’s still fairly certain his brain bled.

 

“Yeah, I could,” Takeshi agrees. “Are there open classes at the Academy? Do I have to apply or something? Get a teaching pass?”

 

“Er… ask Jiji?” Naruto says sheepishly, scratching his head. “I’m sure Jiji knows.”

 

“And who’s that?” Takeshi sees Kakashi cringe, and he steels himself for the answer.

 

“Oh, that’s the Hokage,” Naruto adds offhandedly, and Takeshi blinks rapidly before breaking into a wide grin, laughter bubbling up from his chest.

 

“So you wanna steal your granddad’s job?” He wheedles, nudging Naruto’s shoulder. “A terrible grandchild, taking your granddad’s job away from him! How heinous!”

 

Naruto laughs, shying away from Takeshi’s wandering elbows and speeding forward. “I’ll tell Jiji you’re looking for a job to teach us how to use swords!” He says excitedly, barely avoiding tripping on a stray rock, saved by Sasuke’s fingers digging into his collar and hoisting him upright.

 

“Don’t make Sasuke-kun clean up after your messes,” Sakura mutters in disapproval. “If you can’t run on the ground properly, it’ll be worse running through the trees, y’know?” She tugs at the straps on Naruto’s bag, tightening them to prevent the bag from sliding off his shoulders.

 

“Sorry, Sakura-chan!” Naruto calls out, pulling the straps higher up on his shoulders. “Thanks! And you too, I _guess_ , teme,” he adds, nose scrunching up as he throws a look at Sasuke.

 

Mini-Kyouya rolls his eyes and stuffs his hands in his pockets. They’ve slowed to a stroll, the entrance to Konoha right in front of them, and something that feels like excitement unfurls in Takeshi’s chest. It’s always interesting to go to a new place, regardless if it’d been Venice, or Florence, or even that one time when they all went to Shenzhen to find Ipin, and-

 

Takeshi draws up short, stilling in his footsteps as he stares up at the large mountain, at the four faces carved into it. His mouth drops open, and he gapes like an idiot. He almost drops Haku, with how loose his grips gets.

 

The trio’s up ahead, talking animatedly to the two people on standby at the entrance; Naruto’s arms are flailing everywhere and he points at Takeshi every now and then. The two strangers seem more concerned with the large hulk of unconscious man on Kakashi’s back.

 

But Takeshi’s attention is on the four faces.

 

“Our four Hokages,” Kakashi introduces, standing next to him and looking up. “The current Hokage’s the Third, however. The Fourth… passed a while back, so the Third took up the mantle again.”

 

All Takeshi can think of is that this looks very familiar to that one mountain in America with the faces carved into stone. “So you… carve your leaders’ faces into rock? For… posterity?”

 

Kakashi looks pensive. “For entertainment factor?”

 

“Ah,” Takeshi says cheerfully, a grin spreading over his face. It seems a little stupid, but a nice thought. That the people of this village loved their leaders so much they carved their faces into rock to forever be imprinted on a mountain that towers over the village. It’s kinda sweet.

 

The silver-haired man’s shoulder knocks into his, a gentle push forward. “Come on. We’ll drop these two off at T&I and then we’ll head to the Hokage’s Tower.”

 

“T&I?” Takeshi inquires, content with following behind Kakashi. The man in front tenses for a moment at that question, but the tension escapes just as fast, and he turns back to offer a closed-eyed smile.

 

“Torture and Investigation,” Kakashi says lightly, carefully looking for Takeshi’s reaction.

 

Well, Takeshi honestly couldn’t think of any other option when he’d ran through the possibilities in his mind earlier. There’s no other place to dump this guy and his partner. Especially when Kakashi had said Zabuza was valuable – Takeshi would have done the same.

 

“Mm, alright,” he replies casually, nodding at the two strangers eyeing him as he steps through Konoha’s gates. Takeshi glances around to take in the sights and the sounds for a moment. He doesn’t know what exactly he expected, but the village is loud. Boisterously, familiarly loud, and it makes his chest twinge painfully. There are people everywhere, the shuffling of feet a quiet backdrop against the chatter filling the air.

 

He doesn’t actually remember how long it’s been since he’s been surrounded by so many people. Tsuna had crafted that terrible plan because of how dire the situation had become, because of how there’d practically been no one left, and Takeshi remembers wandering the halls of the Italy branch and seeing ghosts roam with him.

 

It hurts for a brief moment, and then he decides to bury it deep in his chest. Nothing to do about it in this situation, so he’ll just ignore it for now.

 

He looks around for Kakashi, glancing back to check on Haku, and freezes when he doesn’t catch a glimpse of silver at all. “Hey, kids,” he starts absentmindedly, and chuckles when the three children glare affronted at him. “Sorry, but do any of you know where Kakashi went? I’m supposed to bring Haku over to T&I with him, and he’s kinda disappeared.”

 

Sakura peers around, registers the disappearance of her teacher as well and shakes her head in frustration. “If he doesn’t come back, I can take you there, Takeshi-san. It’s not that far. Why don’t we-“

 

“-ah,” a voice drawls from behind them, and a strong hand reaches out to grip Takeshi’s shoulder tightly. “I forgot you can’t flash step,” Kakashi mutters wryly, back free of Zabuza, and his fingers curl to dig into Takeshi’s collarbone. “Hold on, okay?”

 

There really isn’t anything to hold on to, when his hands are full of Haku and he can’t exactly bite Kakashi for stability, but he nods cheerfully nonetheless. The world around him blurs abruptly, and it speeds to a stop just as fast. Whiplash makes his neck crack and Takeshi winces, his feet losing their position and stumbling as he struggled to maintain his grip on Haku.

 

Someone reached out with two hands to stabilize him, holding him up by his shoulders and letting him lean onto them to catch his breath. Takeshi blinks quickly, biting his lip to control his breathing, and Flames rush through his body to calm his racing heartbeat. He looks up with half-lidded eyes, a muffled groan leaping from his mouth.

 

“You okay?” Kakashi asks, reaching out to grip Takeshi’s shoulder and prop him up. “Maybe I should have given you a bit more warning,” he says, amusement leaking from his tone. Takeshi weakly slaps at his arm, vision still dizzy from the speed.

 

“Just tell me where to put Haku down,” he gets out in a breathless laugh, head spinning as he stumbles in the direction Kakashi leads him in. “Here’s okay, right? Just-“ Takeshi doesn’t even wait for an okay sign, just bends down and lets Haku slide out of his arms.

 

He’s feeling rather tempted to just sit there and collect himself for a while. His Flames are pumping through his veins, settling his headache and cooling his blood, but it feels like it might take a while. Takeshi tips his head back and stares up at Kakashi. “Are we going to warp to the Tower too?”

 

Kakashi raises an eyebrow and lets his gaze sweep over Takeshi’s form. “You think you can take another round?” He huffs out a laugh, offering a gloved hand for Takeshi to latch on to. It feels quite like an entire rollercoaster ride squeezed into a matter of seconds. It makes Takeshi crave death, but it also exhilarates him to no end. He stands up, wobbles a little on the spot, and tightens his fingers against Kakashi’s inner elbow.

 

“Yes, please,” he says excitedly, accidentally tripping on thin air and leaning closer to Kakashi. “Again. Please.”

 

It is important to be polite to people he wants things from, Takeshi remembers. Kakashi levels a suspicious look at him, but pulls him in to get a firmer grip on Takeshi. “We usually don’t flash step with conscious people,” he offers apologetically, a thrum of regret throbbing through his voice. “It might have been a bit rough just now. And now. Be prepared.”

 

“Oh, of course,” Takeshi laughs in exhilaration. “Let’s go to the Hokage’s Tower. And see if I’m going to be a sushi chef or a... what was it? A teacher! Yeah, a teacher.”

 

He feels high on adrenaline. It’s a great feeling, but probably not good in the long term, is it? He chuckles, and lets himself be whisked away to meet the Hokage of Konoha.

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave a review on your way out or drop by my [twitter](https://twitter.com/zxrysky) and [tumblr](http://zxrysky.tumblr.com/)


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